Traction drive systems are used in a variety of applications. One type of traction drive system includes a belt or chain that extends endlessly between pulleys or gears. The system further includes a tensioning system with a tensioner arm for adjusting the tension of the belt or chain, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B which illustrate a tensioning system 10 according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1A, the traction drive system includes an endless belt 15 which is tensioned via the tensioning system 10 which includes a tensioner arm 20 mounted to a support 40. The tensioner arm 20 is arranged on the support 40 such that the tensioner arm 20 pivots about a pivot point 22 so that the idler wheel or the tensioner arm 20 is pressed into the belt 15 in order to adjust the tension. An actuator 60 is fixed to a portion of the tensioner arm 20 and applies a force on the tensioner arm 20 to pivot the tensioner arm 20 and adjust tension of the belt 15. The actuator 60 can be a simple spring actuator, a pressurized cylinder, or other force generating element
During operation, rotation of the belt 15 may cause the tensioner arm 20 to vibrate or otherwise contact the support 40 which results in undesirable wear and audible chatter. One known solution for addressing this contact is to install a rubber stopper 30 between opposing faces of the tensioner arm 20 and the support 40, as shown in FIG. 1B. While this known rubber stopper 30 reduces wear between the tensioner arm 20 and the support 40, chatter is still produced due to contact between the rubber stopper 30 and the support 40. It would be desirable to provide an improved tensioning system that prevents contact between the tensioning arm and the support or provides guidance for the tensioning arm, and also eliminates chatter.